


Old House

by GreyAce



Series: CW 2017 [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Dogs, Friendship, Gen, Haunted Houses, Horror, Mystery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 09:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13164051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyAce/pseuds/GreyAce
Summary: A boy is taken on an adventure through an abandoned house as he chases his dog.





	Old House

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote as part of my final portfolio for creative writing.

“Valkyrie, come back! Please!” A young, short boy shouted as his dog broke from the leash.

Dumbfounded from Valkyrie’s unusual behavior, the boy watched from behind the moldy, wooden fence as his dog slipped in between two loose boards. He fiddled with his thumbs—anxiously wondering what he ought to do—as the little terrier ran further away from him and towards the old house.

It was a chilly autumn afternoon with slight overcast. Gentle winds rustled the deciduous trees, piling more dead leaves onto the already littered floor of colorful foliage. With each step he took, a crunch of dry leaves resounded throughout the barren streets. The boy leaned forward onto the fence to observe the territory before him. In about a few yards, a decrepit house stood eerily among the unkempt lawn of wilting tall grass.

Quincy was a boy of age 11; earlier, he had insisted to his parents that he was old enough to walk the dog alone. By now, he regretted his persistence as he was tasked with retrieving the energetic little dog. He clenched the collar of his wool coat as the wind whistled and ruffled his disheveled brown hair. Nodding to himself, Quincy decided he had to find Valkyrie lest he face admonishment. He scanned about the perimeter, searching for a way past the rotting fence.

Once he had located an opening on the side away from the street, he approached the house with hesitation. Quincy had heard rumors from his peers that the place was haunted, thus no one dared to move into the house, leaving it to deteriorate from neglect. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a stone plaque behind the house but refocused his thoughts back on finding Valkyrie. A crow perched onto a nearby tree and squawked, causing the boy to flinch.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts, Quincy,” he whispered to himself for reassurance. “Just grab Valkyrie and you can be on your way home again.”

With each step he took on the porch, the old floorboards creaked. Quincy shook his head in attempt to clear his apprehension and proceeded towards the front door, which was left ajar. He peered into the home and was greeted with the sight of Valkyrie running towards the staircase that led to the upper floors. The familiar sound of her tag clinking against her collar echoed and faded as she disappeared from view. It was still early noon, so it was bright enough that he could see a few meters ahead without a flashlight. Nevertheless, he entered with caution.

The lobby of the home was dusty with blurred picture frames hanging on the walls. Only the windows at the base of the staircase provided light, but it was enough to guide him. He gulped before he speeded to the stairs and back to the safety of the sunlight. Quincy exhaled after his sprint and looked to the top of the stairs, searching for signs of Valkyrie. However, she was nowhere to be seen, so he surmised he must have lagged behind too much. As there were broken glass shards from the cracked pane, he ran up the stairs whilst keeping distance from it.

Quincy turned his head left and right repeatedly once he reached the top of the stairs. He was in a dimly lit hallway with light coming in from only windows the rooms that were left open. The mold on the walls and doors provided obvious signs of abandonment. Quincy slowed his breathing to focus on any sounds of Valkyrie. It was indistinct, but he could just barely make out the jingle of her tag coming from the right in the hallway, which disappeared in mere seconds. Without a second thought, he ran towards the sound.

The room Quincy entered was identifiably a study. Bookshelves lined against the walls and center of the room. Dust particles fluttered among the amber rays of sunlight. Quincy coughed into his sleeve and approached one of the shelves. Although arranged in neat rows, the books were covered with soot and dust; with the bindings falling apart, the books appeared to be deteriorating. However, he had not long to dabble with his curiosity as the familiar clinking sound brought his thoughts back to his situation. He darted towards the other side of the room and found Valkyrie sniffing at a navy-blue baseball cap on the floor.

“There you are, Valkyrie! Let’s leave this place now.” 

Quincy sighed in relief at the sight of his dog unharmed. However, as he came closer to Valkyrie, she ran away once again. Wasting no time, Quincy grabbed the hat and chased after her. He grimaced at all the trouble he went through just for taking her for a walk for the day. As he exited the study, he caught a glimpse of his dog entering a room on the far end of the hallway. Quincy wasted no time in his thoughts and continued his pursuit. 

The next room was—by comparison to the other parts of the house—darker as one of the curtains covered up the view of the setting sun. Although far advanced into the day, pulling the shades away allowed light to illuminate the dark room into an orange hue. Quincy pressed his hand against the wall for a moment to catch his breath; his heart pounded rapidly, and his breathing was rugged from exhaustion. Glancing down, he examined the hat that he brought along in his haste. Unlike the other things in the study, the hat seemed to be relatively new, although it was coated with dust. 

“Hello there. It’s quite unusual to have visitors to this humble abode these days. Who are you?” A soft, young voice suddenly asked.

Startled from the sudden voice, Quincy trembled from the revelation that someone was around. “I…I’m Quincy and I’m looking for my dog. Have you seen her?”

A boy around Quincy’s age stepped out from the shadows in the room with Valkyrie in his arms. He wore a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts, which was unusual for the chilly autumn weather.

“Don’t worry, she’s safe.” He giggled and let the terrier down. “You must have been worried about her. She’s a wonderful little dog.”

Quincy took Valkyrie into his arms as she ran back to him. He sighed in relief that the chase was finally over and that he could leave this creepy old house. He shifted his attention back to the boy, unsure of what to say to him.

The boy spoke again to break the silence, “I see you’ve found my hat. May I have it back please?”

Quincy nodded and handed back the hat. In the brief moment of contact, he shivered from the touch of the boy’s cold hand. Before he could say anything, the boy spoke up again.

“Thanks for finding it for me! I’ve been searching for it for quite a while now.” He smiled and glanced out the window. “I’m sure you must find it uncomfortable to be in this old house, right? You should go now that you’ve found your dog.” His warm smile conflicted with the sorrow in his eyes.

“What about you? Aren’t you going to leave as well since you got your hat back?” Quincy asked out of concern.

“I’ll be okay!” The boy chuckled, and his expression brightened again. “Well, we’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Quincy tilted his head in confusion but answered out of politeness, “Yeah, I suppose.”

The two boys exchanged parting words and waved good-bye. Quincy walked out of the room with Valkyrie as the unknown boy remained where he was. However, as Quincy reached the stairs, a realization came to him: he forgot to ask for the boy’s name. He turned back towards the room he came from, but the boy was gone. In his place was a neatly written note that read, “Thank you, Quincy.”

Quincy glanced about but saw no traces of anyone else around—as if the boy was never there. As he looked out the window, his eyes landed on the plaque he had saw earlier. The hat he found earlier was placed next to it, though the color was faded into a shade of sky blue. Quincy stared in contemplation for moments before he made his way out of the house and into the backyard. 

Once outside, Quincy stared for moments before he walked over to the burial. Feeling the dents and scratches, he ran his hands across the rugged surface of the plaque.

“Rest in peace, friend.”


End file.
